Samus Aran: Bounty Hunter
by Authraw
Summary: Sequel to The Hatchling. Samus Aran starts a new life within the Galactic Federation. Can she succeed as a bounty hunter?
1. Foreword

**Samus Aran: Bounty Hunter**

A sequel to The Hatchling

_By Nate Thorn_

**New Beginnings**

"Welcome to Happy Fun Burger. May I take your order." The last part was less of a question and more of a statement. Her voice was boring and monotone.

Samus' new lifestyle was of blatant contrast to her previous life. She was used to spending hours each day in intense physical and mental training. Now, she spent each day flipping burgers and asking boring people what they wanted to eat. She hated the job, as it was not stimulating in any way, but she needed the money so that she could pay her rent.

"Do you want fries with that."

As Samus was nearing the Ceres Space Station two cycles ago, her vehicle caused great alarm. She had stolen a small space pirate craft and used it to escape the bad memories that plagued her on the planet Zebes. She left behind all that she had ever known to start anew somewhere else.

The Galactic Federation police apprehended Samus, fearing her to be a pirate, but she was soon released when she explained her story. They took her to the nearest civilized planet, Enlyst, and the Galactic Federation gave her an identity and five-thousand Galactic Federation Standard Currency (simply referred to as GFSCs.) They set her up in a small apartment in the crowded city of Treik, and had a representative meet with her three times a week for a cycle to teach her the ways of life in a Galactic Federation-run planet.

The Galactic Federation was the governmental body that ran the vast majority of the civilized world. It was composed of over seventy planets, some large, some small, and it formed the largest nation in the galaxy. It welcomed all species of intelligent life forms, of which at least twenty-three had been discovered. In general, the Galactic Federation did an excellent job in maintaining peace between planets and other nations that were not necessarily aligned with the Galactic Federation.

Samus was just one drop in a vast sea of intelligent beings associated with the Galactic Federation. The Chozo (the people with whom Samus had grown up) had managed to remain relatively secluded: The Galactic Federation knew that they existed, but knew little about them. While living with the Chozo, Samus had felt a good deal larger. While living on Enlyst, Samus was a nobody, wandering aimlessly in a fruitless search for recognition amongst other nobodies.

Looking at her watch, Samus realized that it was getting close to quitting time. She pulled off her striped hat and hung her apron on the wall with all of the other workers' aprons. She trudged outside without a single word of farewell to anybody. Samus had not made friends with anybody on Enlyst. How could she, after all? She had learned the hard way that you cannot hold anything too close, as it will eventually be torn from your clutches. Such had become Samus' lonely personal philosophy.

She walked down the busy Treik streets, bracing herself from the cold wind that was whipping up. She wished she had brought a coat.

Samus stopped at the post office on her way back to the apartment. She checked her number, and found a few bills there. On her way out the door, something caught her eye. There was a piece of paper posted on a billboard near the exit.

"_WANTED: Url-Krym. 100,000 GFSC Award._" One-hundred thousand GFSCs was a lot of money. With it, Samus could easily afford her own home somewhere, and get some education for a better job. The paper listed a website that could be visited for more information. Intrigued, Samus pulled the paper off of the wall and made her way back to her apartment.

As Samus ascended the stairs leading to her room, her thoughts drifted to the piece of paper in her pocket. What was she thinking? How would she be able to catch someone that was able to evade the ever-present Galactic Federation police? She almost threw the paper away, but something told her not to.

She reached the door to her apartment and unlocked it. She shuffled into the bleak room and shut the door behind her. There were no decorations or fancies to be found anywhere: There was simply a stiff, wooden chair in the center of the room facing a dormant television. Against one wall was a desk with a cheap computer sitting atop it. There was a small, square table on the other side of the room with a nondescript lamp and a small, white telecom resting on it. There was a large, virtually empty closet next to the door to the kitchen which contained boring cupboards and a refrigerator with only the bare essentials of life in it.

Samus pulled the paper from her pocket and headed over to the small computer. She turned it on and pulled up the chair while she waited for it to boot. After a minute or so, she opened up her web browser and typed in the URL listed on the paper. It loaded slowly on her dial-up connection, but it was not long before Samus found what she was looking for. She saw a picture of an ugly, insect-like creature on the screen labeled "Url-Krym". She read the description on the screen.

"_Url-Krym is wanted for running a crime ring on the planet Enlyst. It is rumored that he is behind many of the recent bank robberies experienced in some of the major cities of the planet._" The site went on to explain various small details and events that were linked to Url-Krym. Samus stayed up into the early hours of the morning researching this criminal, trying to learn everything that there was to know about him.

One site was of particular interest. It was a rather crudely built site, very unprofessional looking, but it held some of the most valuable information Samus read that night. It appeared to be a journal or blog of some sort, and it was dated for last night.

"_Our recent run was a failure. The GF caught on to some sort of lead and raided Gryph's apartment. I guess they found something important, because they took him in for questioning, and I haven't seen him since. We decided to go on with the operation anyway, but the GF were waiting for us. We all managed to get away, and nobody's been apprehended since Gryph, so we figure they couldn't ID any of us. Apparently, old Url still wasn't very happy, and he had a couple of guys beat up for it. He wants to send out our crew again in three days to hit the same bank, and he's made some pretty big threats this time. He won't accept another failed mission._"

Hurriedly, Samus checked for any recent attempted bank robberies. She found one, not too far away from where she was now, that had occurred a few days ago at the Customers First Bank in New Criaven.

Putting everything together, Samus figured that there was going to be another robbery at the Customers First Bank in two days. She immediately decided to notify the authorities, but then she had another idea. She realized that she would be off work in two days, and free to go wherever she pleased. If she wanted to get that reward money for Url-Krym, she would have to get creative…


	2. Glossary

**Glossary**

**Samus Aran: Bounty Hunter**

**Caern**- Samus' first and only human friend. Samus met Caern while in a space pirate base. They had both been captured, but they both managed to escape. Unfortunately, Caern was killed by a space pirate when on a mission to find Samus' Chozo father, Toré.

**Ceres**- A large space station built on an asteroid in an asteroid belt. Ceres' main purpose is as a gigantic scientific think-tank where scientists of all races around the galaxy can get together and make scientific discoveries for the good of all. It is relatively new, and seems to be quite effective.

**Chozo**- A species of birdlike people, most likely originating on the planet Zebes. The Chozo found Samus Aran on the planet K2-L after it was raided by space pirates. Her mother and father had been murdered, so the Chozo people decided that they would raise her. The Chozo have a strict set of beliefs and all endure hours of intense physical and mental training daily. Space pirates waged war on them two cycles ago and killed off all of the Chozo on Zebes. The only other known Chozo colony is on the planet Tallon IV.

**Crossfire Gun Company**- Easily the most popular gun company in the galaxy. The Crossfire Gun Company is the leading provider of the Galactic Federation Marine Corps' weapons. Because of this, it is not uncommon for them to receive governmental grants to aid them in building their guns and researching new technologies.

**Drepp Bliem**- Right hand man of the infamous Url-Krym. Drepp Bliem is involved in many of the crimes that occur on the planet Enlyst. Galactic Federation Police have been trying to find Drepp for years, and have come very close several times, but they have always fallen short. They have now offered a reward of fifty-thousand GFSCs for his capture, believing that he holds valuable information that could lead them to Url-Krym.

**Earth**- The home planet of the Human people. Since its regal beginnings as a planet, Earth has become a largely polluted planet. At one time, it was a major base for a good deal of governmental dealings, but corruption, crime, and an ineffective location have caused a good deal of the planet's governmental systems to collapse. The Galactic Federation still manages to maintain its grip on the planet, but it is becoming more and more notorious for the many criminals and unsavory denizens that now inhabit its cities.

**Energy Tank**- The device that controls and maintains the shield system of Samus' power suit. Each energy tank has a total of ninety-nine units of energy. Samus' suit has only one energy tank equipped at this time, but if she were ever to come in contact with another Chozo-made energy tank, she could add it to her suit's entourage. Every time that she is hit, some energy is used to keep her unharmed. When the suit runs out of energy tanks, it can no longer protect Samus and she is vulnerable to the environment.

**Enlyst**- A highly populated planet belonging to the Galactic Federation. Enlyst was one of the many planets colonized by Humans in their expansion from Earth. It has grown to epic proportions since then, and is a considered a major hub of activity for both governmental and business purposes. There is very little free space left on Enlyst, and the planet is quickly becoming polluted, despite efforts to control pollution by the local government.

**Galactic Federation**- The governmental body that runs the vast majority of the civilized world. It is composed of over seventy planets, some large, some small, and it forms the largest nation in the galaxy. It welcomes all species of intelligent life forms. In general, the Galactic Federation does an excellent job in maintaining peace between planets and other nations that are not necessarily aligned with the Galactic Federation itself.

**Galactic Federation Marines**- The military force maintained by the Galactic Federation. Though the Galactic Federation does everything within its power to maintain peace, it still has an active marine force to defend or attack opponents, if necessary. The Galactic Federation Marines are often used to explore newly discovered or hostile planets.

**Galactic Federation Police**- The enormous group of people employed by the Galactic Federation to maintain peace throughout its realm. There are Galactic Federation Police on every planet that the Galactic Federation controls. They are in charge of capturing criminals, defending planets, and maintaining good relations with local inhabitants if necessary. The Galactic Federation Police also patrol the many space routes taken by ships between Galactic Federation controlled planets, searching for space pirates or other threats to the Federation.

**Galactic Federation Standard Currency (GFSC)**- The standard currency accepted at all Galactic Federation controlled planets. It is required by law that all planets within the Federation acknowledge it, and the vast majority of other nations accept it as well.

**Gyrak**- One of many species of intelligent beings in the galaxy. It is very insectlike in appearance, and has a very strong outer carapace. The Gyrak first lived on the planet Myr-Tol, and were discovered by human pioneers. The human pioneers taught the Gyrak people advanced technologies, and they quickly became a major species in the galaxy.

**Happy Fun Burger**- A popular fast food restaurant franchise. Happy Fun Burger is, perhaps, the most famous fast food restaurant chain in the galaxy. They have a total of 2,583 individual restaurants on the planet Enlyst alone, and the grand total number of restaurants in the galaxy changes so often that it cannot be calculated. It is said that there is not an organism in the galaxy that hasn't eaten at a Happy Fun Burger.

**Hunter-Class Vehicle**- An inter-planetary ship named for its popularity amongst bounty hunters. Hunter-class vehicles are usually fast and small, with the ability to transport very little. They are popular amongst bounty hunters because of their speed and ability to hide from unsuspecting prey. Many bounty hunters use modified versions of the standard Hunter-class vehicle to fit their particular tastes.

**Inter-Planetary Ship**- While there are many ships that will take passengers all over any given planet, inter-planetary ships for transport between planets are much more expensive, and rarely used for personal use by the general public due to incredibly high prices. Most people rely on publicly-owned, mass-transit ships when they have to travel from one planet to the next.

**Jed Astimi**- A master human thief. Twenty-five year old Jed Astimi always works with his partner in crime, Mera Quinn, and together they can pull off master heists. Little is known about Jed's past, but it is known that he met Mera on the planet Jemina shortly before they began their raids on small businesses. It is believed that Jed's parents were outlaws as well.

**Jemina**- A planet sitting on the outer limits of the Galactic Federation's boundaries. Because of its distance from the Galactic Federation Headquarters, Jemina is a difficult planet to maintain. It is constantly plagued with corruption and is generally considered a lawless planet. The Galactic Federation has sent its Marine Corps several times to the planet in attempts to keep it under its thumb, but Jemina continues to be a difficulty. It is believed that many of the world's criminals run to Jemina when they are attempting to escape from the law.

**K2-L**- A trade colony set up twenty-two cycles ago. K2-L was set up by the Galactic Federation along a popular trade route in hopes that it would prosper. It did, and it eventually attracted the attention of the Space Pirate Federation. They attacked it, stealing all of the goods there and killing all of the civilians. The only known survivor of the attack was Samus Aran, who was discovered by the Chozo people and taken back to their home planet of Zebes. K2-L is no longer considered to be inhabited.

**Mera Quinn**- A master human thief. Twenty-three year old Mera Quinn always works with her partner in crime, Jed Astimi, and together they can pull off masterful heists. Mera grew up on the planet Jemina and left her parents when she was a teenager for more adventure. It was not long before she met up with Jed and they have been working together ever since.

**Morph Ball**- One of the many functions of Samus' power suit. Samus can switch her suit to morph ball mode, in which she curls up into a small, metal ball. The morph ball is one of the chozo's greatest mysteries: It is yet unknown how this is possible, nor is it known how the user can still 'see' while a morph ball.

**Myr-Tol**- The original home world of the Gyrak. Myr-Tol is famous for its dangerous looking surface, covered by large craters and sharp, rocky spires. There is very little vegetation on the surface, and the planet is commonly pelted with acid rain. Almost all of Myr-Tol's cities and life exist beneath the surface in a series of complicated, highwaylike tunnels and caves.

**New Criaven**- A city on the planet Enlyst. It is a major city involved in the economic stability of the planet, as it has a great deal of the planet's banks and stock markets based in it. Despite incredibly tight security, the Galactic Federation Police are having trouble keeping it completely safe from the especially crafty criminals.

**Power Suit**- The suit that Samus received from the Chozo on Zebes. It was specially crafted for her, and it was given to her to help her find her adoptive father, Toré. The power suit is incredibly powerful. It has a number of strange functions, and is customizable, according to different upgrades that can be made to the suit. The suit is partially organic, and will grow with Samus as she ages. When Samus is wearing the suit, it maintains her vital signs, such as breathing, body temperature, and heartbeat.

**Scan Visor**- One of the visors equipped with Samus' power suit. The scan visor uses advanced Chozo technology to gather information on various objects Samus is looking at. The visor has only two major drawbacks: First of all, the visor cannot scan an object that is too far away, forcing Samus to get near the object, no matter how dangerous, before she can find out what it is. Secondly, the visor can take up to three seconds to gather the information; Three seconds that she may not have while in intense combat.

**Space Pirates**- An intelligent species that is covered by a thick exoskeleton. All space pirates are governed by the Space Pirate Federation with an iron fist. Space pirates are very volatile, and it is not uncommon to see two pirates fighting to the death over a dispute. They tend to be very impulsive, and will often engage any enemy in combat, regardless of their chances of survival.

**Space Pirate Federation**- The governing body over the space pirates. The Space Pirate Federation is believed to be, for the most part, a dictatorship. It holds no value in the individual, but rather the betterment of the group. It is willing to sacrifice its own soldiers if they find it beneficial in the long run. The Space Pirate Federation's goal seems to be complete domination of the galaxy, and they are constantly running several plans at once. If one is discovered, they have another to fall back on.

**Tallon IV**- Tallon IV is a remote planet not controlled by the Galactic Federation. Little is known about it, other than the fact that it is now inhabited by a group of extremist Chozo who seceded from Zebes due to differences in beliefs.

**Telecom**- A common household communication device. It can be used to communicate with anybody in the world, and it is used for both personal and business purposes. It allows for each user to view the other, as well as talk to them. It also has a large number of other uses, varying from instant messaging to surfing the internet.

**Toré**- Samus Aran's Chozo father. Toré was the Chozo who first discovered her on K2-L, and he was given the privilege of raising her. He was killed while searching for Samus in a space pirate base.

**Treik**- A city on the planet Enlyst. Treik is a major city on Enlyst, famous for its many tall buildings and high employment numbers. This is the city that Samus is first brought to by the Galactic Federation when she arrived within their borders. She was given an apartment there.

**Url-Krym**- A crime lord somewhere on the planet Enlyst. Url-Krym is quite skilled at evading the Galactic Federation Police. They know his identity, but they can never quite seem to pin him down. He is responsible for many of the robberies occurring all over Enlyst, large or small. The Galactic Federation Police is becoming so desperate to catch Url-Krym that they have offered a reward of 100,000 GFSCs to anyone who can bring them to him.

**Ussur**- A planet centrally located in the Wyvrn Rim. Ussur is a relatively small planet, and there is little of interest there. It is, however, a favorite stopping point for many merchants because it lies along several main trade routes. Recently, it has come under the attention of the Space Pirate Federation, and is frequently visited by pirate raiding parties.

**Wyvrn Rim**- A large area of planets off to one side of the Galactic Federation's control. The Wyvrn Rim contains many of the Galactic Federation's largest trade planets and economic strongholds. Because of this, the Wyvrn rim is frequently under attack by Space Pirates, which seem to be increasing in intensity and frequency over the past few years.

**Zebes**- The home planet of the Chozo people, not controlled by the Galactic Federation. Two cycles ago, it was locked in a war between the Chozo people and the Space Pirate Federation. The space pirates managed to take over the planet and kill all of the Chozo that lived there. Samus spent the majority of her childhood growing up on Zebes.


	3. New Beginnings

**Samus Aran: Bounty Hunter**

A sequel to The Hatchling

_By Authraw_

**New Beginnings**

"Welcome to Happy Fun Burger. May I take your order." The last part was less of a question and more of a statement. Her voice was boring and monotone.

Samus' new lifestyle was of blatant contrast to her previous life. She was used to spending hours each day in intense physical and mental training. Now, she spent each day flipping burgers and asking boring people what they wanted to eat. She hated the job, as it was not stimulating in any way, but she needed the money so that she could pay her rent.

"Do you want fries with that."

As Samus was nearing the Ceres Space Station two cycles ago, her vehicle caused great alarm. She had stolen a small space pirate craft and used it to escape the bad memories that plagued her on the planet Zebes. She left behind all that she had ever known to start anew somewhere else.

The Galactic Federation police apprehended Samus, fearing her to be a pirate, but she was soon released when she explained her story. They took her to the nearest civilized planet, Enlyst, and the Galactic Federation gave her an identity and five-thousand Galactic Federation Standard Dollars (simply referred to as GFSDs.) They set her up in a small apartment in the crowded city of Treik, and had a representative meet with her three times a week for a cycle to teach her the ways of life in a Galactic Federation-run planet.

The Galactic Federation was the governmental body that ran the vast majority of the civilized world. It was composed of over seventy planets, some large, some small, and it formed the largest nation in the galaxy. It welcomed all species of intelligent life forms, of which at least twenty-three had been discovered. In general, the Galactic Federation did an excellent job in maintaining peace between planets and other nations that were not necessarily aligned with the Galactic Federation.

Samus was just one drop in a vast sea of intelligent beings associated with the Galactic Federation. The Chozo (the people with whom Samus had grown up) had managed to remain relatively secluded: The Galactic Federation knew that they existed, but knew little about them. While living with the Chozo, Samus had felt a good deal larger. While living on Enlyst, Samus was a nobody, wandering aimlessly in a fruitless search for recognition amongst other nobodies.

Looking at her watch, Samus realized that it was getting close to quitting time. She pulled off her striped hat and hung her apron on the wall with all of the other workers' aprons. She trudged outside without a single word of farewell to anybody. Samus had not made friends with anybody on Enlyst. How could she, after all? She had learned the hard way that you cannot hold anything too close, as it will eventually be torn from your clutches. Such had become Samus' lonely personal philosophy.

She walked down the busy Treik streets, bracing herself from the cold wind that was whipping up. She wished she had brought a coat.

Samus stopped at the post office on her way back to the apartment. She checked her number, and found a few bills there. On her way out the door, something caught her eye. There was a piece of paper posted on a billboard near the exit.

"_WANTED: Url-Krym. 100,000 GFSC Award._" One-hundred thousand GFSCs was a lot of money. With it, Samus could easily afford her own home somewhere, and get some education for a better job. The paper listed a website that could be visited for more information. Intrigued, Samus pulled the paper off of the wall and made her way back to her apartment.

As Samus ascended the stairs leading to her room, her thoughts drifted to the piece of paper in her pocket. What was she thinking? How would she be able to catch someone that was able to evade the ever-present Galactic Federation police? She almost threw the paper away, but something told her not to.

She reached the door to her apartment and unlocked it. She shuffled into the bleak room and shut the door behind her. There were no decorations or fancies to be found anywhere: There was simply a stiff, wooden chair in the center of the room facing a dormant television. Against one wall was a desk with a cheap computer sitting atop it. There was a small, square table on the other side of the room with a nondescript lamp and a small, white telecom resting on it. There was a large, virtually empty closet next to the door to the kitchen which contained boring cupboards and a refrigerator with only the bare essentials of life in it.

Samus pulled the paper from her pocket and headed over to the small computer. She turned it on and pulled up the chair while she waited for it to boot. After a minute or so, she opened up her web browser and typed in the URL listed on the paper. It loaded slowly on her dial-up connection, but it was not long before Samus found what she was looking for. She saw a picture of an ugly, insect-like creature on the screen labeled "Url-Krym". She read the description on the screen.

"_Url-Krym is wanted for running a crime ring on the planet Enlyst. It is rumored that he is behind many of the recent bank robberies experienced in some of the major cities of the planet._" The site went on to explain various small details and events that were linked to Url-Krym. Samus stayed up into the early hours of the morning researching this criminal, trying to learn everything that there was to know about him.

One site was of particular interest. It was a rather crudely built site, very unprofessional looking, but it held some of the most valuable information Samus read that night. It appeared to be a journal or blog of some sort, and it was dated for last night.

"_Our recent run was a failure. The GF caught on to some sort of lead and raided Gryph's apartment. I guess they found something important, because they took him in for questioning, and I haven't seen him since. We decided to go on with the operation anyway, but the GF were waiting for us. We all managed to get away, and nobody's been apprehended since Gryph, so we figure they couldn't ID any of us. Apparently, old Url still wasn't very happy, and he had a couple of guys beat up for it. He wants to send out our crew again in three days to hit the same bank, and he's made some pretty big threats this time. He won't accept another failed mission._"

Hurriedly, Samus checked for any recent attempted bank robberies. She found one, not too far away from where she was now, that had occurred a few days ago at the Customers First Bank in New Criaven.

Putting everything together, Samus figured that there was going to be another robbery at the Customers First Bank in two days. She immediately decided to notify the authorities, but then she had another idea. She realized that she would be off work in two days, and free to go wherever she pleased. If she wanted to get that reward money for Url-Krym, she would have to get creative…


	4. The Hunt Begins

A/N: Chapter 2 is up. I'm doing my best to keep Samus from becoming a Mary Sue, but given the character that Nintendo made her to be, it's pretty darn hard. Don't be too harsh, okay?

Don't forget to review!

**The Hunt Begins**

The morning of the robbery, Samus found herself at the steps of the Customers First Bank in New Criaven. She entered the bank carefully, wondering what to do next. She milled about aimlessly, probably looking rather suspicious herself, simply wandering around the bank.

_What am I even doing here?_ Samus asked herself. _This is crazy. I could get hurt; or worse yet, I could get killed!_ She immediately headed back outside, intending to distance herself from the bank and all of her crazy ideas. _It would never work, anyway._

She walked briskly down the street, silently chiding herself for being so stupid. She passed a coffee shop, and decided to go in for a cup to clear her head. As she opened the door, a little bell hung atop it rung, telling the shopkeeper that she was entering. She went to the counter and ordered a cup of black coffee. The creature behind the counter poured it for her, and she sat down at a booth.

After sipping her coffee for a while, Samus got the eerie feeling that something was amiss. There were several other booths in the small shop, and two of them were packed full of fidgety creatures of different species. They were murmuring quietly to each other, but they all seemed ill at ease. Some of them had drinks, but many did not. Every once in a while, they would glance out of the window nervously.

Samus immediately knew that something was up. She tried to conceal the fact that she was watching them, and continued to slowly drink her coffee. Minutes ticked by, painfully, and Samus' coffee got dangerously low.

Suddenly, a craft's horn beeped outside. Now, a craft beeping its horn in the city was no rare occurrence, but it seemed to make all of the tense people inside the coffee shop jump. Quickly, one of the men got up, and the rest of his booth followed him out of the shop. Minutes later, the second booth left.

Samus jumped into action, forgetting her personal decision to not get involved. She placed her coffee cup on the counter, paid for it, and headed for the bank.

When she arrived, she thought it best not to go in, but instead wait for the robbers to come out. She checked to see that nobody was looking, and she shuffled into an alleyway. From here, she had an excellent view of the bank.

Samus was startled when she was grabbed around the throat from behind by a scaly hand. "Sorry, miss," A grating voice hissed, "But I can't let you ruin this for us!"

_Of course_, Samus' racing mind realized, _They have a lookout!_ The creature's grip tightened around her neck. It was trying to suffocate her. Samus acted fast: She brought one leg back and hooked it around her assailant's ankle. She shot one elbow back into her opponent's gut, knocking the wind out of him, and then brought her foot forward, effectively sending him crashing down on top of her.

_Well, this wasn't exactly what I had planned, but I'll take it,_ Samus thought to herself. She was now lying underneath the creature, but he no longer had his arm around her neck. Samus thought back to her days with the chozo, when they would wrestle for sport. She was never any good at it, as her arms and legs were a good deal shorter than the chozo's, but this creature was much more of a match for her.

It started to get up. Samus took this opportunity to wriggle out from under him, and then kick the underside of his elbow, sending him crashing back to the ground. Samus managed to get to her feet and then dealt the creature a neat blow to the temple, knocking him out.

Samus was breathing heavily, more from the startling experience than from physical exertion. She looked down at the now unconscious creature lying on the ground. He would wake up with a pounding headache, but he'd be alright. She turned her attention back to the bank. She saw a few creatures dashing out of the doors and down the steps, then into an alley. It wasn't long before they were gone.

Samus cursed under her breath. Now what was she going to do? They would be too far away now to follow back to their hideout. She looked back down to the thug that she had beaten up. She didn't want to be around if the cops discovered him, just in case. She decided to head back to her apartment.

As she reached her room, two emotions were filling her: One was the thrill of adventure. The other was the sinking feeling of defeat.

-X-

"What happened to _you_?" The big, burly creature growled at its scaly associate.

"What does it matter?" It snapped back, holding an ice pack to its throbbing head.

"Ah," The big one grumbled. "Got beat up, did you?" The other creature just shot him a cheeky look. The big creature frowned, and headed into another room.

Sitting in the center of this room behind a giant desk was an ugly bug-like creature. It had four armor-plated arms, and its mandibles were large and foreboding.

"What is it, Grimm?" The insectoid murmured, looking at the big creature.

"I think Dei got beat up on the job," Grimm explained.

"By whom?"

"I don't know. He won't tell me."

"Bring him here." Grimm nodded and left, bringing the scaly creature with him.

"What is it, boss?" Dei asked with the slightest bit of fear in his voice.

"That bump on your head. How'd you get it?" The great insect demanded.

"I was attacked while on lookout duty, sir," Dei said, feeling very small.

"And, who, pray tell, attacked you?" The boss insisted, leaning over his desk at Dei.

"It— It was a female human, sir."

"What?"

"A female human." Both Grimm and the large insect laughed heartily.

"Do you mean to tell us that you were beat up by a _girl_, Dei?" Grimm asked him, about to burst with laughter again.

"But you should have seen her fight! It was amazing. I've never seen somebody so skilled at hand-to-hand combat before in my life. I didn't stand a chance," Dei tried to explain. He wasn't really helping his case.

"What was she doing that she would try to beat you up, Dei? Why was she there?" The insect continued.

"You know, I'm really not sure. I saw here there, watching the bank. She didn't notice me, so I grabbed her from behind. After that, well, it all went so fast— I was on the ground and didn't wake up for a while, I guess," Dei recalled. Grimm and the insect looked at each other.

"You say she was watching the bank, Dei. Why was she doing that?" Grimm asked, suddenly suspicious of this whole encounter.

"To be honest with you, I don't know…" Dei trailed off, afraid that he would get struck for his ignorance. Grimm and the boss exchanged glances again.

"Dei," the boss began, "I need you to show us this woman. I want to find out exactly what it is that she knows."

-X-

The next morning, Samus woke up wondering if the events of the previous day were all a dream. She got out of bed and walked into her bathroom to splash water on her face. Maybe she hadn't actually done any of that stuff at all.

As she made her way to Happy Fun Burger, her mind wasn't really on what she was doing. She kept on going over the previous day's events, trying to sort through them all. Was she still going to try to catch Url-Krym? Or was that all just a disillusion of grandeur?

Because Samus wasn't really watching what was going on around her, she failed to notice the group of people following her closer and closer. When she passed through a particularly desolate part of the city, they quickly grabbed her and drug her to the nearest alley.


	5. Deception

A/N: Next chapter is finally up. Sorry it took a few days, I had writer's block. I decided to throw a little action into the story, just to break things up a bit. Also, I added a few terms to the glossary, including Happy Fun Burger!

**alleycat1312**- Samus still has her power suit with her, but the ship she used was commandeered by the Galactic Federation Police.

**PixieGirl13**- I'll be praying for you! I'm sure it will be a life-changing experience. You'll have fun!

**tikitikirevenge**- Hee hee! I'll see what I can do as far as updates… But no promises!

**Deception**

The thugs stood in a circle around Samus, leaving no room for escape. She might have been able to take on one or two of them, but there was no way that she could escape from this many.

She simply stood, her arms crossed, trying her best to seem tough. Inside, she was quaking like a leaf. She looked around the circle at the creatures around her. They were all men, it seemed, were of different species, and they each wore a tough snarl on their dirty faces. It was clear that whatever they were here for, they intended to get.

After a moment, one of them spoke. "Let's get down to business, shall we?" He gave Samus a dirty look. "Why were you spying on us?"

Samus was confused for a moment. Then she realized that these must have been the men who robbed the bank. Her mind raced, searching for an answer. She simply blurted out the first logical thing that came to her mind.

"You fools! I was going to steal your loot from you as soon as you escaped," Samus paused to see if they were buying it. They seemed to. "Unfortunately, I misjudged the location of your lookout and had to take care of him instead. By the time I had finished, you were already gone."

The men just looked at her, unsure of what to believe. Dei _had_ said that she was an incredible fighter, but could she really have pulled off robbing them? The one who seemed to be the leader glared at her for a moment, trying to see if she would crack. She simply glared back.

"Hold her here," He said, walking out of the circle for a moment. "I need to talk to the boss." As he isolated himself to talk on his telecom, Samus merely shifted her leer from one thug to the next, trying her best to keep up her false bravado. She was frightened out of her wits that she had just made things worse for herself.

After a moment, the leader returned to the group. He looked around at his men, and then made a single statement.

"Test her."

Immediately the men sprang into action. They all ran at Samus at once, giving her little time to react.

Her Chozo instincts snapped into effect. She ducked under one of the men, effectively bringing herself outside of the circle. She now had two choices: She could stay and fight, as her Chozo instincts compelled her to do, or she could run.

She turned around and faced the confused jumble of men. She could feel her heart pounding in her head, and she could sense the adrenaline rushing through her veins. Suddenly full of the thrill of the fight, Samus ran up to one of the men and executed a kick to his back, sending him flying across the alley into another thug.

Two men ran at Samus, intending to knock her into a wall. Thinking quickly, Samus swung her foot low, tripping one, and then stuck out her arm and clotheslined the other. The one started to get up, but Samus brought her heel down hard upon his back, sending him sprawling again.

Samus looked up to see about five men rushing at her. She carefully timed a roundhouse kick and managed to take out four of them. The fifth she punched in the face. He caught the blow, but was not expecting Samus' knee to his gut. He crumpled to the hard cement floor.

"Enough!" The leader said, actually fearing for his men's safety. Samus was panting heavily from exertion, but the adrenaline rush she was receiving at the moment would have allowed her to remain fighting for a good deal longer.

The men, who were scattered about the ground, were now getting up, groaning and grumbling over their bruises and scrapes. Their leader turned to face Samus. "We have an offer that I think you might be interested in. We would like you to join our crime ring. You can have ten percent of all of the booty you help us get."

Samus' eyes widened. She couldn't do this! Pretty soon, _she_ would be the one wanted. But then another thought came to her. What better way to catch the leader of the crime ring then becoming a part of it?

"I want thirty percent," Samus said, realizing that she had to play hard-to-get if she wanted to be credible.

"Twenty."

"Twenty-five."

"Done."

"So," Samus inquired, trying to sound nonchalant, "When do I start?"

"Come with me," Came the reply.

The band of thieves led her through several back alleys and eventually brought her to the back door of a broken down, abandoned shoe factory. The leader slowly opened the door. The rest of the gang followed him into the factory.

Samus looked around. It still looked completely untouched. There was a thick layer of dust on all of the broken down machinery, as well as a good deal of cobwebs covering everything. There was no sign that a band of thieves had been meeting here.

The gang headed to a staircase leading to the basement. As soon as Samus reached the steps, she noticed the contrast between the basement and the upper levels. It was clear that this space had been used frequently.

The light was fairly low, and there were a few beat up chairs sitting here and there. The basement seemed to be filled with halls and corridors leading to who knows where. The leader turned and faced his gang. "You guys are dismissed." He then turned to face Samus. "You, come with me."

Samus' heart was beating fast again. Where was he going to take her? What was he going to do to her? He led her down a corridor and through a door on the left.

Samus suddenly found herself standing in front of Url-Krym himself. He was sitting in a chair behind a large desk. There were a few other chairs in the room. Url looked from the thug to Samus, then back to the thug again.

"Leave us here." He ordered. The thug nodded and left the room. Now Samus was standing in the presence of the crime lord himself. Alone.


	6. Plans

A/N: Yay! I really enjoyed writing this chapter. Let's hope you enjoy reading it, too!

**tikitikirevenge**- What? Romance? Not at all… At least, not between Url-Krym and Samus. That would just be weird.

Thanks to all who have reviewed this story so far! Keep the reviews coming:)

**Plans**

When Samus finally returned to her apartment late that night, she shuddered. She threw her coat in the closet next to her power suit, the closet's only other occupant. She slumped down in her chair and went over the day's events in her head.

Url-Krym had a long conversation with her, telling her what she could and could not do. He told her to quit her current job, and that she had to always be able to answer her phone, and be available at all times. She must be careful at all times to prevent detection. He warned her that if he found out that she had leaked information to anyone, she would be dead the next morning. His next words still sent shivers down her spine.

"And if there's a bounty hunter that comes knocking on my door," He had said to her in a hushed voice, "You'll be the first one I suspect, because you're the new kid. You had better watch your back, and stay in line, because I just don't trust you yet."

Samus sat in her chair in silence for a long time. What had she gotten herself into? She now seemed to have two choices: She could continue with her plan to capture Url-Krym for the reward money, or she could just stay where she was, living the life of crime. It could prove to be very profitable.

Samus pondered her options for a while, but in the end she decided that she could not bring herself to maintain a life as a criminal. She had to do the right thing. And now, there was no turning back.

Shoving aside all doubts, Samus began to form a plan in her mind. Was she going to go marching into the base now? Or was she going to wait for some time and try to gain the respect of Url-Krym? Both options had their share of dangers. If she decided to march in soon and failed, she would have to be on the run from Url-Krym forever. If she bided her time, she could get caught by the Galactic Federation Police and sent to jail as a thief. Not to mention that Url-Krym seemed very volatile, and it didn't seem like it would take much for him to have her killed. Either way, one wrong move could be death.

What had she done? She could have spent the rest of her life like most citizens did, working hard at an honest job for honest money. Now she had thrown all of that away for the fleeting possibility at a large sum of money, and high chances of death.

The stress suddenly came barreling down on her, and she started weeping. It was the first time she had cried in two cycles, and she simply couldn't bottle her emotions inside anymore.

Eventually, alone in her apartment and the world, Samus cried herself to sleep.

-X-

Samus woke with a start the next morning. She found that she was sweating, and she couldn't shake the uneasy feeling in her chest. She knew what she had to do, but it scared her to death. She wanted to stay where she was, in the safety of her own apartment, but she knew that she couldn't hide there forever. She had to face Url-Krym sooner or later, and why not catch him off guard now than allow him some time to learn to distrust her?

Samus was freaking out. She had even considered running away again, heading off to some remote planet to make a living all on her own, but she knew that she couldn't do that. She couldn't keep running from her problems. It was time for her to face them.

She was quaking like a leaf the whole time that she was taking her shower, eating breakfast, and suiting up in her power suit. She had it all planned out, and she had gone over her plan time and time again. There were numerous things that could go wrong, but she could see no better way. It was only by sheer will that she managed to force herself to walk out the door and try to make her way, silently, out of the apartment building and out of sight.

Thankfully, nobody saw her, and she managed to make her way into a dark alley unnoticed. She was glad, too, because she wouldn't have known what to say to anybody who inquired about her unusual attire.

Samus maneuvered her way down the many winding passageways and back allies that led to the abandoned shoe factory. When she arrived, she had to spend a few minutes quieting her ever-worrying mind. Before she could talk herself out of it, Samus walked toward the back door leading to Url-Krym's hideout.

Luckily, Samus thought to use her scan visor to check for any hidden traps or things that she might have missed on her way in. Her visor identified an object in a crack in the wall as notable. She scanned it.

"Hidden inside this crack is a small camera," the readout explained, "that is hooked up to a room inside. Anyone who approaches the door will be seen long before they enter the building." Samus stood back and slowly pondered a way to gain entry without detection. If she destroyed the camera, it would make it obvious that an intruder was coming. She narrowed her eyes and looked around for another entrance.

She noticed a window along the wall that was broken. She found it odd that there would be a window facing the alley, so she scanned it. The computer in her helmet calculated this for a moment and then offered the explanation that this factory was built long before any of the other buildings were here.

Samus carefully approached the window after she was sure that there were no more hidden cameras. The glass was broken out of the window most of the way around. Samus checked again for traps, and then, finding none, dove through the window, doing a few somersaults on the floor inside the factory to prevent herself from crashing to the ground.

When she had righted herself again, she immediately switched her scan visor on. It gave her information on the various uses for some of the broken-down machines in the room, but it detected no traps or cameras.

Samus carefully made her way to the stairs that led into the basement. This was the moment that she was waiting for: The part where it started to get tough.

Cautiously, Samus charged her arm cannon. The soft hum it made worried her; she was afraid that her opponents would hear it, but she had to be safe, just in case she was attacked.

Slowly, Samus made her way down the steps, trying her best to keep her feet silent. She listened for the sound of people below. She heard nothing. As she approached the bottom of the steps, the last step creaked.

"Hey!" Someone shouted. He walked over to the steps to see who was coming. He was shocked to see the orange metallic figure that was standing at the bottom of the steps. "Who the –" The man began, but Samus quickly dispatched him with her cannon. He was now lying unconscious on the floor with severe, possibly fatal burns on his chest. Samus felt no pity. She had learned that pity gets you nowhere, and that showing mercy to those who did not deserve it just ended up coming back to haunt you later.

Samus swung her cannon around, checking for anybody else, or to see if anybody had heard her fire her power beam. Nobody had, and there was nobody else around, so she silently made her way toward Url-Krym's office. The door to his office was at the end of a long hallway, and it seemed that every step Samus took actually brought her further away from the door.

After what felt like hours, but was in actuality less than a minute, Samus arrived at his door. She looked around her, to be sure that nobody else could see her, took a deep breath, and then dealt the door a powerful kick, sending it flying open.

"Don't move!" Samus shouted, but was shocked to find the room empty. She quickly whirled around, well aware that her presence was no secret anymore. There was a single thug standing in the hallway with a bewildered look on his face. When he saw Samus, he quickly pulled a laser pistol and started firing at her.

Samus ducked back into Url-Krym's office, charging her arm cannon. It wasn't long before the thug appeared in the doorway, brandishing his laser pistol cautiously. Samus quickly fired her cannon at the man, sending him flying into the hallway.

Thinking fast, Samus realized that she had to find Url-Krym before he escaped. This may be her only chance to capture him. She dashed out into the hallway and towards the stairs, the only way out of the basement. If Url-Krym wanted to get out, he would have to come through her first.

It didn't take her long to realize the flaw in her plan: A criminal mastermind such as Url-Krym must have a secret back door that he can take for a situation like this. Samus swore under her breath and tried to figure out what to do.

As if on cue, Samus heard the sound of a door slamming somewhere off to the left. She sprinted down the left hallway and noticed that one of the doors was open ajar. Flinging it open and brandishing her arm cannon menacingly, Samus charged into the room. Just as she had expected, Samus found a door in this room leading to a flight of stairs. Samus quickly followed the stairs up to a set of doors above her that opened out onto the side alley, not far from the main street. Samus quickly pulled herself through the doors to catch a few fleeting glimpses of Url-Krym getting into a brown, nondescript vehicle and driving away. Samus would be unable to catch him.

Samus cursed again and clenched her fist in defeat. She had been so close. Url-Krym had just barely slipped through her fingers.

Shots rang out from behind her. The display on her helmet's visor showed that her energy tank's power was going down. She spun around to face her assailant. Interestingly enough, it was Url-Krym's second-in-command that she had met the day before. Samus fired a few minor shots at him, but did not fire to kill. She ran at him, full speed, and knocked him to the ground. She brought her boot down heavily on his wrist to prevent him from reaching his gun, which had now slid across the pavement. Samus then brought her other knee down on his chest, effectively pinning him to the ground. She placed her arm cannon dangerously close to his nose.

Her voice dripped venom. "I'm going to give you ten seconds to tell me where Url-Krym is going."


	7. Pursuit

A/N: Next chapter is up! I added a few terms to the glossary, too.

**MakoAnima**- Well, I wasn't really trying to disguise Url-Krym's identity as the leader of a crime ring, so yeah, I guess you could say that his name was a dead giveaway on purpose. :)

**Pursuit**

On the way to Url-Krym's bunker hidden in the basement of an apartment complex on the other side of town, Samus stopped at the Galactic Federation Police office. She brought her prize into the building behind her.

The people inside the office stared at the strange sight that met them: An orange, metallic figure was leading the famous criminal Drepp Bliem into the station, bound in an old rope. Samus took him to the front desk.

"I'm here to turn this criminal in," Samus said, still wearing her helmet. "Are there any bounties on his head?"

The officer behind the desk, obviously shocked, nodded slowly. "Do you know who this is?" He asked Samus, not waiting for an answer. "This is Drepp Bliem, the right hand man of Url-Krym! We've been searching for him for years!"

Samus drummed her fingers on the desk impatiently. "I really have somewhere to go. I just want to know if there are any bounties on his head, and if so, I want to collect my money."

The whole situation seemed surreal to the officer, but he nodded his head and turned to his computer to look up the amount of the bounty. After a few minutes, he wrote out and handed a check for 50,000 GFSCs to Samus.

Samus didn't have time to process the money in her hand. She folded the check and headed back outside, in the direction of Url-Krym's bunker.

-X-

The apartment building was an old, run down place that seemed to have layers of dirt and grime covering the outside. The inside wasn't any cleaner. Samus wandered around until she found a door that led to the basement.

As she made her way down the steps, Samus wrinkled her nose at the strong, musty smell that greeted her from below. It was the last place she could imagine anybody hiding, as it was so repulsive, but that was probably why Url-Krym had picked it.

Samus reached the bottom of the steps, and could see very little through the darkness. After thinking for a moment, Samus charged her gun. The slight glow that it gave off when charged was enough for her to see by. The basement was relatively empty. There were pipes everywhere, and a few boxes here and there. There was a large circuit board on one wall.

Suddenly, shots rang out from Samus' left. The energy tank display read 73 units left. Samus jumped back and took cover as best she could on the steps. More shots rang out, but they all landed somewhere above her head. This was the difficult part: Samus had to apprehend Url-Krym without killing him to get her one-hundred grand.

Samus released the trigger of her arm cannon, sending the charged blast in the general direction of the attacker. She hoped fervently that it did not make contact, as it could easily be fatal to an unprotected foe. She heard no cry of pain, so she hoped for the best. She waited for more shots to be fired in her direction.

Nothing. Just silence.

After several minutes, Samus could wait no longer. She peered over the steps in the general direction from which she had been shot. It was useless, there was not enough light for her to be able to see anything. She charged her gun, but still could not quite tell if Url-Krym was there or not. Carefully, and ready for an attack at any moment, Samus made her way to the corner in which she believed Url-Krym to be.

She had made a fatal mistake: She left the stairs unguarded. As soon as Samus was far enough away, Url-Krym came dashing out of the shadows and up the stairs that led outside. Samus cursed and impulsively shot at him as he made his way up the metal stairs. Then an idea came to her.

Quickly, Samus switched her arm cannon to missile mode and fired a missile at the supports holding up the stairs. It exploded and brought the stairs crashing down. Url-Krym tried to jump for freedom, but couldn't make it. Instead, he dropped to the floor, hitting the hard metal remains of the stairs head-first.

Samus drew in her breath sharply. It was clear that Url-Krym was knocked out. Samus only hoped that the injury wasn't fatal.

Now Samus was faced with another problem: How was she going to get out? She had been thinking quickly when she brought down the stairs, but perhaps she hadn't thought far enough.

Not knowing anything better to do, Samus switched to her scan visor. The visor identified Url-Krym as something she could scan, so she read what the visor had to say.

"Morphology: Gyrak. This organism has suffered trauma to the head and is unconscious, but stable." Samus was glad to hear that Url-Krym was still alive. She turned her visor on various other objects in the room, looking for a way to get back outside, but to no avail. Dejectedly, Samus turned off her scan visor and sat down on part of the newly-mangled stairs.

Frustrated, Samus picked up a twisted shard of metal from the stairs. She pounded it against the ground angrily, frustrated at her problem. How could she get back outside, with Url-Krym on her shoulder? Scowling, Samus threw the shard of metal across the room. It hit one of the boxes sitting on the floor.

Suddenly, an idea came to her. She grabbed Url-Krym and tied him up with the rope that she had brought for just that purpose. Then she dragged him far enough away from the doorway that he couldn't get hurt if she fell. Then she grabbed one of the boxes and balanced it against the wall on the tangled remains of the stairs. Carefully, Samus stepped on the box, and reached up and tried to reach the ledge that would lead her to the room above.

The box crushed under the weight of Samus' armor. Furious at her misfortune, Samus kicked the box out of the way and looked for another solution. Scanning the room, Samus noticed something that she hadn't seen before: An old, abandoned washing machine sitting next to a long-forgotten dryer. Samus walked over to them and did a little estimating in her head. If she were to stand on top of one of these, she might be able to reach the doorway above.

Bracing herself, Samus hefted the washing machine over to the doorway and placed it against the wall. She tested it, and with a little work she got it stable. Carefully, she climbed on top of it and reached for the doorway above her. If she jumped, she could get herself high enough to pull herself up. She turned to look at the unconscious body of Url-Krym. She would be able to get herself out of the basement, but how would she be able to get him up? She wouldn't be able to jump high enough with him on her shoulder.

Then she got an idea. She turned back to face the wall, and jumped up to the first floor, pulling herself up with both arms. Then she left for the nearest payphone.


	8. A New Passtime

A/N: Well, I've finally gotten this chapter out. I know it's been a long time coming: I've had two vacations and a whopping case of writer's block, but in the end I finally got this story back on track. I've also added a few terms to the glossary.

**Tikitikirevenge**- Hawaiian pizza? How did you ever guess?

**Warior**- Samus doesn't have her thermal visor yet. Recall that she received it from the chozo with relatively limited functions: Missiles, charge beam, morph ball (plus morph ball bomb) and scan visor. Anything else she must find elsewhere, and that may or may not happen in this story.

**Alleycat1312**- It was supposed to be humorous. XD And I didn't really want Url to put up a huge fight: Samus has to get a swelled head.

**Pixiegirl13**- Welcome back! The fic is far from over: Url was just a warm-up! evil grin

Well, that should do it! On to the chapter!

**A New Pastime**

Samus sat in her chair, holding the two checks in her hand. In one day, she had made one-hundred-fifty thousand GFSCs: Enough to buy a modest house.

She reached for another slice of Hawaiian pizza. Now that she had some money, she could afford to splurge on things like that. She knew exactly what she was going to do: First thing in the morning, she was going to deposit her checks, and then find a good real estate agent and buy herself a house. She wanted out of this apartment building badly, and desperately wanted to find a place where she could don her power suit more secretively.

Samus sighed and sat back a bit, very relaxed. This bounty hunting business was stressful, but it was all worth it for the money in your hand once you turn in your prize. It was instant cash – a quick fix – and it was a job that actually kept Samus stimulated.

Of course, it also came with its fair share of dangers.

-X-

It did not take Samus long to move her few possessions into her new home. She quite enjoyed the look on the homeowner's face when she wrote him a check for the house's value in full, right up front. All in all, it cost her one-hundred-forty-two GFSCs.

She now had more room than she knew what to do with. She used the remaining money to buy furniture for her new home. Shopping was a new experience for her: The chozo rarely did any shopping like that, minus the buying and selling done in the marketplace, and she hadn't had any money until now to go shopping anyway.

At the end of a long day of organizing and reorganizing her furniture in her house, she plopped into her big, fluffy bed. She was exhausted, but she also was brimming with giddiness, excited that she was finally amounting to something.

Weeks passed, and Samus took her time settling into her house. She had no form of transportation to speak of, just a large empty garage. It was not long before she felt trapped again, and she set out in search of adventure.

While surfing the internet she found something that caught her eye: The local police had placed a bounty of thirty-thousand GFSCs on a pair of petty thieves. They've been pursuing the thieves for months, and their crime sprees seem to keep on getting more elaborate as time goes on.

Samus had gotten a swelled head from her first hunt. If she could track down one-hundred-fifty-thousand GFSCs worth of criminals in one day, how hard could a thirty-thousand GFSC bounty be any harder? Surely this would be an easy mission.

She couldn't be more wrong.

-X-

Samus sat silently behind a parked vehicle, an armored lump upon the desolate sidewalk. She had been studying the actions of this pair of criminals for two weeks now. They were two humans named Mera Quinn and Jed Astimi, and Samus had good reason to believe that they would be robbing this mini-mart tonight. Samus planned to ambush the couple before they even entered the mart and make her catch.

She had been sitting still for just under two hours now, and her knees were starting to hurt. She was beginning to wonder if she had made some sort of mistake.

But there was no mistake.

A sharp blow to the back of her head sent Samus sprawling on her back on the rocky pavement. A dark figure was looming over her, a gun in hand. Samus could make out few of the person's features in the dark, but she was fairly certain that he was wearing a ski mask.

The person laughed. "Nice try," Came a feminine voice. This must have been Mera. The gun was pointed at Samus' face.

Springing into action, Samus shot out her leg and tripped the woman, knocking her to the ground and sending her gun flying through the air. Samus quickly got to her feet and pinned Mera to the ground with her foot.

_I knew this would be easy_, Samus thought to herself as she prepared to knock Mera out. Before she could, however, there was a gunshot from somewhere behind her and she was thrown back to the ground. Her health meter registered seventy-eight: Whoever was shooting at her had a powerful gun.

Samus swore under her breath as she realized her mistake: She knew where Mera was, but she had forgotten about Jed. Thinking quickly, she rolled into her morph ball and rolled to the other side of the vehicle she had been crouching behind.

Unfurling, Samus took up a defensive position. She knew it wouldn't be long before her assailants got over the shock of what they had just seen and tried to attack her again.

Sure enough, shots soon rang out around Samus, each barely missing their mark. It had become a shootout, and there could only be one winner.

Springing up from her position behind the vehicle, Samus fired a few shots in the direction of the criminals. She ducked under some return fire.

Then, silence. Samus' heart beat faster as each minute passed by, causing more and more of an uneasy feeling to form in her gut. Something very bad was about to happen; Samus could just feel it.

Suddenly there was the sound of tires squealing behind her, and a few more shots rang out in her direction. One of them connected, and brought her health meter to fifty-five.

Samus jumped upright and spun around to see a vehicle speeding away too fast to pursue. She swore and stomped her foot: Her quarry had escaped. Then another curious sight met her: There were people milling about the mini-mart in front of her with a worried look on their faces. The clerk behind the desk was talking hurriedly on a telecom, clearly frazzled.

Mera and Jed had managed to rob the mini-mart behind her back.


	9. A New Threat

A/N: I just got done with this chapter and my initial reaction is: "Wow." It's a powerful chapter, and I almost don't like it, but I think it's necessary to drive the story in the direction I want it to go.

**Alleycat1312**- Yeah, I plan to take Mera and Jed as far as I can. You'll see more in this chapter.

**Warior**- They're human. They're just really good at what they do.

**Pixiegirl13**- You got a motorcycle? No fair. '--

That's about it! Enjoy the chapter, and please review. I really want to know what you think about this chapter in particular.

**A New Threat**

"Sir, we have reason to believe that the pirates are amassing a military force large enough to conquer a large part of the Wyvrn Rim. They're more than just a severe annoyance anymore: They're a new threat to our livelihood."

The Galactic Federation officer scratched his chin a moment. "The pirate raids in that sector _have_ been getting worse over the past few years. What can we do to prevent a future conflict?"

"I'm glad you asked, sir," the soldier replied, "I've been thinking, and you know the planet Ussur? If we built a military stronghold there, we could possibly guard against pirate raids and, hopefully, discourage a future attack without ever declaring war."

The officer nodded carefully. "Yes… You could be right. How many marines can we spare?"

-X-

"Is that it?" Alec asked the stevedore. He nodded and closed up the cargo hatch to the small merchant ship. Alec moved towards the cockpit, preparing for his journey.

Suddenly, a small child ran up and threw her arms around his legs. "Do you have to go again, daddy?" Came the small child's voice.

"What are you doing up this late?" Alec looked down at his daughter, smiling. He always hated this part of his job. If he could, he would stay here with his family forever. But, alas, duty called and it was time to head out with his wares.

He bent down to look his daughter in the eyes. "Listen to me," he said to her soothingly, "Do you see that star, right there? That really bright one?" Alec pointed to the sky. "That's where I'm going to be," he told his daughter. "Any time you get lonely, you just look at that star and think of me and it will be like I'm right here with you." The little girl smiled.

"I love you, daddy."

"I love you, too, sweetie."

The little girl yawned. Alec patted her on the head lovingly. "It's past your bedtime. Why don't you go home and have mommy tuck you in bed? I'll be back in a few days."

His daughter yawned again and murmured something sleepily as she headed off towards home. Alec's heart ached to stay home, but he had no choice: His family depended on the money he made selling his wares on other planets.

It was not long before Alec was soaring through space, headed towards the small dot that he knew was the planet Ussur.

Then disaster struck.

It started with a small beeping on the radar of the ship, announcing the arrival of another ship.

"Odd," Alec noted, double checking his controls. "There shouldn't be any other ships on this route this week."

Then it hit him. "No…"

Lasers were fired, and Alec's ship rocked violently. Shocked, Alec regained his senses and fired back. The other ship was relatively unharmed.

Suddenly, it was gone. Nothing on the radar. Nothing to be seen out of the windows. Gone. As if the pirate ship had vanished into thin air.

After a few minutes of heavy breathing and a racing heart, Alec fired up the thrusters again. He was confused: What had happened?

Suddenly his ship was thrown violently to one side. He had been rammed. Then he realized what had happened: The pirates had advanced cloaking technology. They were still there, and still very much a threat. He just couldn't see them.

Alec's ship was spinning dizzyingly into space. He was thrown against the walls of the craft as the ship's gravity generators tried to cope with the confusing movement. The gravity switched planes crazily, sending Alec flying about the ship uncontrollably.

Another blast from the pirates' ship broke open a hole in the cargo hold. The vacuum sent boxes of valuable spices flying aimlessly into space as the room tried to depressurize. After steadying the small merchant ship with a tractor beam, the pirates prepared to board.

Grabbing a blaster that he kept hidden under his seat, Alec prepared for battle. Shortly he heard the pirates stomping about, tearing open boxes to find what they contained.

Seconds later, pirates burst through the cockpit door, brandishing their feared wrist blades. Alec stood no chance. He killed two pirates before they could get into the room, but it was not long before the pirates overwhelmed him, swarming the room.

A pirate blade was thrust through Alec's midsection, twisted painfully, and then wrenched from his gut.

His last thoughts were of his daughter and wife, who were never to see him again.

-X-

"Another successful night!" Mera squealed, throwing the small sack of money on the couch. Jed smiled gleefully. The grand total was now over three-hundred-thousand GFSCs.

Brimming with joy, Mera ran over to Jed and gave him a big hug. "We're getting there!" She exclaimed, grinning ear to ear.

Suddenly, there was a sound from outside. The couple grew silent and Mera slinked over to the window. Walking carefully up to their front door was a figure dressed in armor, brandishing a pistol and a wicked-looking blade.

Her eyes wide, Mera slipped away from the window and looked at Jed. "_Bounty hunter,_" she mouthed to him. Jed nodded and walked into the next room. Mera pulled a small gun from her belt and moved beside the door.

The next few moments were tense: In the silence, Mera could hear the bounty hunter's footsteps as he approached the front door. When he had arrived, Mera heard him pulling out some sort of tool and carefully cutting the door's window with it. The tool made a very soft screeching sound as it did its job efficiently, slicing through the window as if it were putty.

In a moment, the window was pulled out and the bounty hunter reached in with his hand, searching for the doorknob. Mera's breathing grew sharper as the bounty hunter reached around, looking for the lock on the door. His hand was barely units away from her.

The bounty hunter unlocked the door and slowly opened it. He stepped into the house and looked around, assessing his surroundings. After he was far enough into the room, he was met with a pistol to the back of his head.

"Don't move," Mera whispered in his ear. Mera was rather tall for a human, and she was about the same size as the bounty hunter. The bounty hunter froze.

Careful to keep her pistol pinned against the hunter's head, Mera closed the door and covered the gaping hole where the window used to be with some curtains. Then she turned back to the bounty hunter and hissed, "How much were you expecting to get from us, hmm? How much has our bounty climbed to?"

There was silence for a while, but eventually a gruff voice replied, "Fifty-thousand GFSCs."

Mera smiled to herself. They were becoming more and more well-known. While she was proud of their accomplishment, she realized that a climbing bounty was not a good thing: The higher the bounty, the more hunters they would have on their trail. They would have to be extra careful to cover their tracks from now on.

Mera questioned the bounty hunter for all she wanted to know. She was surprised at how willing he was to give up his information about how he found them and where his references were. Either she was dealing with a new bounty hunter or a prideful one: If he was new, he wouldn't know to conceal this information, and if he was prideful he could be bragging about his bounty-hunting skills. Either way, it worked to her advantage.

After Mera had milked the hunter for all she needed to know, she cocked her gun, intending to kill him while she had the advantage. Unfortunately for her, however, the hunter was ready for this, and managed to wrest himself from her grasp, whirling around to face her.

Not wasting any time, Mera fired off several shots. She had a silencer on her gun, hoping to not bring any unnecessary attention to their house if possible. The bounty hunter was unharmed, but a picture on the wall was damaged. Mera frowned, realizing that this fight could leave their house in shambles. They'd have to come up with some sort of cover-up later.

The bounty hunter ducked into the next room, taking shelter in the doorway. Unfortunately, he had made the same mistake that so many other bounty hunters before him had made.

He forgot about Jed.

Two shots to the back of the head brought the hunter down, despite his armored helmet. Another in his back finished the hunter off.


	10. On the Trail

A/N: Sorry it took so long to get you this chapter. I had a bit of writer's block, and life is becoming busy again. Nooo! Summer vacation! Come back to me!

**alleycat1312- **Yes, that chapter was a little more graphic than I usually like to write. I decided, however, that it was necessary to get my point across.

Well, on to the chapter!

**On The Trail**

Samus sat in her big lonely house, stroking her injured ego. How could they have bested her like that? She was sitting in front of the very mini-mart that she was trying to protect, when they robbed it under her nose. They had made a fool of her, and she would never forgive them for it.

She would get them, if she had to die trying.

After awhile, she began to forget about her personal injury and started formulating a plan to find them again. The first thing she noticed once she got online again to do some research was that the bounty had gone up to fifty-thousand GFSCs. She smiled a little. Perhaps it was in her best interest that they had escaped the first time after all.

Feeling cheered up again, Samus continued searching for hints or clues as to where they would hit next. She searched for hours, and found nothing. It became apparent that she would not be able to catch the pair of criminals without doing a little fieldwork.

The next day, she headed out to do a little investigative work. She first went to the mini-mart that the two had robbed a few nights before. She did not go in her full armor to avoid unwanted attention, but she did bring along a small blaster, just in case.

Unfortunately for her, the entire area was roped off as a crime scene. It seemed that the Galactic Federation Police were searching for clues, just like she wanted. She would have no way to find anything here.

Samus found herself back at square one. She had nothing on Mera and Jed yet. She had no idea what to do next. She sat down on the curb across from the mini-mart. The vehicle that she had been hiding behind had been moved, and there was now an open space there.

Suddenly, something caught Samus' eye. She leaned over and picked up a muddy, sealed folder. Could it have been dropped by Mera or Jed? She broke the seal and opened it.

Inside were newspaper clippings. Samus went through them and realized that there was no question they were dropped by one of the two thieves. It contained several articles done on the duo, each one carefully cut out and placed inside the folder.

One of the articles in particular interested her. It was not about Mera or Jed, but, in fact, was about a company, the Crossfire Gun Company, that had just received a large governmental grant.

Standing up and thrusting the newspaper clippings back inside the folder, and then shoving the folder inside her jacket pocket, Samus headed back home to find the location of the nearest Crossfire Gun Company.

Over the next three days, she spent all of her time near the Crossfire Gun Company, waiting for her prey to take the bait. Nothing happened. Every night, the clerk locked the doors, started the anti-theft alarm, and went home. Every day, he opened up the shop. Samus begun to think that she had gotten it all wrong.

On the fourth night, forty-five minutes before closing time, everything seemed to be going as usual. Samus, fully armored, was on the roof of the building at the moment. She had discovered that it was accessible by a fire escape behind the building.

Suddenly, a vehicle pulled up a few blocks away. Two figures got out and started slinking through the shadows towards the gun shop. Samus stiffened. Could it be Mera and Jed?

She lost track of one of the figures, but she followed the other with her eyes. The figure seemed to slow down as it neared the gun shop. Samus swallowed hard. This had to be them. But where was the other one?

Samus heard an astonished cry from behind her. She whirled around and saw Jed at the top of the fire escape. Both of them jumped into action. Samus whipped around her arm cannon and fired a few non-lethal shots at Jed. Jed whipped his blaster out from a holster on his hip and shot at Samus.

Samus evaded the shots and locked onto Jed. Her visor automatically tracked him as he turned around and started fleeing down the steps of the fire escape. Samus quickly curled into a morph ball and bounced down the steps behind him.

Thinking that the device was a large bomb rather than his pursuer, Jed jumped over the railing and landed with a crack on the pavement below. Without looking back Jed painfully got to his feet and ran down the street, heading for the vehicle Samus had seen him get out of.

Samus cursed under her breath and unfurled from her morph ball. Quickly pursuing her fleeing quarry, Samus jumped over the rail, landing much more gracefully than Jed had. She quickly ran after Jed, trying fervently to get to the vehicle before he did.

Suddenly shots were fired from behind her. She was thrown to the ground as one of the blasts connected with her suit.

"You again?" A frantic Mera wondered from behind her.

Samus could not let the two get away. Thinking quickly, Samus looked up. Still lying on her stomach, she aimed her arm cannon at the vehicle, switched it to missile mode, and fired twice.

Just as Jed approached the vehicle, it exploded in a ball of fire. "Jed!" Mera screamed as he was thrown to the ground by the blast. She jumped over Samus, who was still lying on the ground and ran to her partner, unconscious on the sidewalk with a large bloody cut on his forehead. His arms were badly burned, and his clothes were singed. Tears ran down Mera's face.

Samus took advantage of the 'touching' moment and got to her feet. She walked up to Mera, who was kneeling next to Jed and cradling his bleeding head. Samus placed her arm cannon to Mera's ear.

"Checkmate," Samus said haughtily. She was becoming very sure of herself, and she let out a sly chuckle.

"You…" Mera uttered, her voice full of hatred. She whipped out her blaster and fired a few shots point-blank at Samus' torso as she jumped to her feet.

Samus swore loudly, caught off-guard. She jumped back and checked her visor's health reading. Samus swore again when she saw that her energy tank was now down to seventeen units of energy. One more shot could take down her suit's shielding technologies, leaving her vulnerable. She couldn't risk that.

Samus whirled around and ran as fast as she could in the opposite direction. Shots whizzed past her head dangerously, barely missing their mark.

Samus noticed a covered manhole in the middle of the street. She hated to lose her quarry once again, but it was not worth risking her life for. There would be another chance, as long as she could get out of this alive.

With her left hand, Samus pulled the cover off of the manhole and hurled it aside. Then she curled into her morph ball and rolled down the shaft. Soon, she was rolling down a sloped path and far away from her pursuer.

Mera screamed in fury as she saw the hunter roll down the hole. "Curse you and your stupid ball thing!" She shouted at the top of her lungs, picking up a stone and hurling it down the tunnel. Tears flowed freely down her cheeks.

Suddenly she noticed that people were watching her from their windows, afraid to come out. As if hit by a wall, Mera suddenly felt very exhausted. She had to get out of here.

She ran back to the place where Jed was lying on the sidewalk. A small pool of blood was forming around his head. She had to get him medical attention, but if she showed her face in a hospital, they would be caught. She was torn. What could she do?

In the end, she decided to load him up in the back of a stolen vehicle and sped off towards their apartment. She would have to care for his wounds herself: They couldn't risk being caught.


End file.
